has created its own fragrance, Powell’s by Powell’s, “that mimics the smell of their store”. This too is a form of dark marketing, he believes.
AN EVOLVING APPROACH THAT IS STEPPING INTO THE LIGHT While the exact definition is still up in the air, what the experts can agree on is that dark marketing is an evolving approach which is increasingly stepping into the light. As Van der Valk says: “We are defining it and redefining it as we go along.” For a long time, dark marketing has largely been used by regulated brands as a way of connecting with consumers through innovative, non-restricted avenues. The likes of the tobacco and alcohol industries, casinos and online gaming, arms and ammunition, and even big pharma count among this number – which no doubt has added to the perception of subterfuge attached to the approach. But, increasingly, the human learnings from these marketing efforts are crossing over into mainstream industries, spurred on by new controls and consumer privacy legislation which will make it harder for marketers to reach consumers using traditional approaches. Certainly, the past two years of Covid-19 lockdowns have highlighted that no industry is beyond regulation and that gaps exist in any marketing strategy that relies solely on above- or below-theline thinking, believes Van der Valk. Today’s marketer needs to look at the whole ecosystem and the full marketing mix, he says, adding that: “it’s about inventing new communication channels that may not look like marketing as we know it”.
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WELL-KNOWN AFRICAN media commentator recently described dark marketing as having the connotation of “slipping cigarettes to teenagers at parties that take place in places we don’t want to go to ourselves”. Not so, argues Matthew van der Valk, Executive Creative Director at VMLY&R South Africa, which is part of the global brand and customer experience agency. He is on a mission to rebrand dark marketing – a phrase sometimes used in industry circles but seldom fully understood – into something he calls ‘beyond-the-line’ marketing. Despite its ominous title, Van der Valk believes dark marketing is an increasingly important element in the marketer’s toolbox. Speaking to Strategic Marketing Africa, he explained: “It’s the stuff you don’t see above the line or below the line. This is why I’ve started calling it beyond the line; because there is no line. You are looking at distribution; you are looking at people’s influence within specific communities; you are looking at borrowed interest. It’s about using the mind of the consumer as a medium.” Others have different explanations. Writing in the trade publication Adweek, the Chief Marketing Officer of New Yorkbased advertising insights company BrandTotal, Noam Harel, described dark marketing as: “the practice of publishing sponsored advertisements that only a certain group of people can see”. In other words, a hyper-targeted approach for speaking to a niche audience. An approach that flies under the radar. And with Google phasing out third-party cookies for identity tracking on Chrome from this year, Harel noted that this targeted approach would become even more critical in the future. Jonathan Cherry of Cherryflava, an African-based trends analysis business, cited the ability of dark marketing to leverage “unique sounds, smells and other more subtle sensory cues to create a brand signature”. In the same blog, he referenced an American bookstore that
A HELPING HAND FROM BEHAVIOURAL ECONOMICS “A large part of dark marketing is based on behavioural economics,” explains Van der Valk, who emphasises that human beings often make irrational choices based on their personal likes and dislikes, as well as their vices.
Issue 1 2022
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